Orthodontic appliance



A ril 9, 1963 M. NEGER 3,084,437

ORTHODONTIC APPLIANCE Filed April 7, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 9, 1963 M. NEGER 3,084,437

ORTHODONTIC APPLIANCE Filed April 7, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 3,084,437 GRTHODONTI APPLIANCE Milton Neger, 8 Allwood Terrace, Livingston, NJ. Filed Apr. 7, 1960, Ser. No. 20,601 1 Claim. (Cl. 32-14) This invention relates to an orthodontic appliance for the purpose of aligning or rectifying misaligned teeth, and has several advantages, as stated below, over previous devices used for the same purpose. Multi-banded appliances include the bands which surround the individual teeth, a resilient arch wire which exerts a correcting force on misaligned teeth, and means on or associated with each band to hold the arch wire to the band. Due to the fact that said holding means are necessarily very small, and the arch wire very fine, a number of difiiculties arise in the placement of the arch wire in the holding means,-

and also as to the proper functioning of the holding means and arch wire under various conditions existing or arising during the long time that the appliance necessarily remains in the mouth. The mentioned small size of the component parts makes it tedious and time consuming to properly and securely place the arch wire in the holding means, especially when the teeth are grossly misaligned. The present invention facilitates the placement of the anchor wire, enabling the orthodontist to take care of more patients and also relieves the tedium of that phase of the work.

Additionally, its use will obtain a quicker correction of malocclusions and better final results, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, on reading the subsequent disclosure. Furthermore, the present structure is non-irritating, which constitutes an important improvement over the fine wires which are most frequently used for locking in the arch wire. The ends of the fine lock-in wires are easily moved from their proper positions by mastication and by toothbrushing, and are the cause of many lacerations to the soft tissues of the mouth. Such wires are also loosened or dislodged during brushing and mastication and retard the progress of the case, since the required correcting pressure cannot be exerted on the teeth unless the arch wire is securely locked in its holding means. Other lock-in structures for the arch wire are too rigid and confining; these structures should be such, as in the present invention, as to allow lengthwise movements of such wire, because the latter must adjust to the changing positions of the teeth as a case progresses. Still further, the structure of the present invention is such that a gentle, physiological pressure is exerted on the teeth, as contrasted, for example, with the now usually used twisted wire. Some lock-in structures are confining and tend to bind on the arch wire and make for difiicult insertion and manipulation, especially when the teeth are in irregular positions. In addition, much pressure must be exerted on the rigid lock-in devices, causing them to jam, so that the entire arch wire and the band must be removed, which requires considerable time. Rather than use a device which may prove to be troublesome, the majority of men in the orthodontic profession still use the fine wire twisted around the bracket for locking in the arch wire. The twisted wire unfortunately loses tension after a few days, is easily dislodged, and the constant tension, which is so important in promoting the movement of misaligned teeth, is lacking, and the progress of the case is retarded. Instead of using bent or twisted wire, or rigid lock-in means, I use a resilient closure to lock in the arch wire, which yields but does not give way to any pressure exerted against it by the arch wire, and the closure is so formed and so mounted that the arch wire is at all times and under all conditions securely locked in, and held in such manner that it continuously Patent 3,fi84,437 Patented Apr. 9, 1963 functions properly, exerting the required, but no undue, pressure on the teeth, and in a manner allowing it to conform to the changing positions of the misaligned teeth.

The drawings illustrate the invention on a magnified scale, and in these:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation of a group of teeth, with a fragmentary section of a multiband aligning appliance thereon;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged elevational view of a fragment of FIG. 1, showing the lock-in structure in closed position;

FIG. 3 is similar to FIG. 2, but shows the lock-in structure in open position;

FIG. 4 is a vertical section on line 44 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 shows in front elevation a modified form of lock-in structure, of which FIG. 7 is a vertical section, the arch wire being locked in;

FIG. 6 is similar to FIG. 5 but shows the arch wire about to be inserted into the lock-in structure;

FIG. 7 is a vertical section on line 7-7 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a front elevation of another modification with the arch wire in place;

FIG. 9 is a similar to FIG. 8, but shows the arch Wire about to be put in place.

FIG. 10 is a vertical section on line 10-10 of FIG. 8;

FIGS. ll, 12 and 13 show a further modification, and represent respectively front elevations with the arch wire locked in, about to be placed in the lock-in structure, and a vertical section on line 13-13 of FIG. 11;

FIGS. 14, 15 and 16 show a still further modification and represent respectively the arch wire locked in, about to be put in place, and a section on line 1616 of FIG. 14; and

FIGS. 17, 18 and 19 show another modification, representing respectively the arch wire locked in place, about to be put in place, and a section on line 19-19 of FIG. 17.

Referring to the drawings for a more detailed description, in all figures the numeral 20 represents a band which surrounds each tooth, and the numeral 21 represents the arch wire. A bracket is afiixed to each band, on the cheek side thereof, and is formed with a horizontal recess which is open at the front of the bracket and extends from side to side thereof to receive the arch wire and allow it to move lengthwise as the teeth are brought to their proper positions.

Referring first to the structure shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the bracket 25 is afiixed to the front of band 20, and has a horizontal recess 26, open at the front of the bracket to slidably receive arch wire 21, and to allow lengthwise movement of the latter. The upper part of the front of the bracket is recessed, as shown in FIG. 4, to accommodate the ofiiset upper portion of a resilient or spring closure 28, which closure presses inwardly against the face of said recessed portion to securely hold the arch wire within the recess, even against an outward pressure which may be exerted by the wire, as sometimes occurs when a tooth is very much out of line. The lower end portion of the closure is secured to the bracket by a screw 30, so that it may be swung laterally in either direction to and from its position closing the front of the recess, as shown respectively in FIGS. 2 and 3. It will be seen from FIG. 4, that the upper end 29 of the closure is enlarged in a rounded manner, and that there is a small space between the enlarged end of the closure and the recessed portion of the bracket, to enable the closure to be conveniently opened and closed.

FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 show a modification, in which the bracket comprises a base .35, which is affixed to the tooth band, and, integral therewith, upper and lower resilient arched elements 37 and 38 respectively, which grip the arch wire by exerting opposing pressures thereagainst.

The free end portions of the mentioned elements diverge to allow easy insert-ion of the wire therebetween.

FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 illustrate a further modification, which includes a resilient or spring closure 41 for opening and closing the open-front recess 43 of a bracket 42. The closure is L-shaped in profile and is attached to the bottom surface of the bracket by a screw 44, while the upright part of the closure presses against the front of the bracket, and, like the closure 26 of FIG. 4, has a rounded upper edge which is slightly exerted for easy insertion of the arch wire into recess 43.

FIGS. 11, 12 and 13 show another modification, wherein the resilient closure 47 is hinged at its lower end, as at 48, .to the bracket 49. This closure is offset in profile, so that its upper portion may press against the arch wire when sprung onto a button 50 which is screwed into the bracket, the closure having an opening through which the button passes.

FIGS. 14, 15 and 16 show another modification, in which the upper portion of the front face of the bracket 52 is concavely curved, and extends forward a little more than the lower part of the front face, i.e., the, part below the recess 54. The resilient closure 56 is, L-shaped in vertical section, with the upper end portion curved to fit the concave formation of the opposed portion of the bracket, and the edge of the closure extends somewhat forwardly of the front face of the bracket for convenience FIGS. 17, 18 and 19 show another modification, in which the bracket 65, recessed at 67, has a process 66 on its upper surface, to hold a one-piece, resilient wire closure 68. The latter is in the general form of an inverted U, having its upper portion bent back (FIG. 19) and having bowed sides (FIG. 17), and having its end portions bent'to form bearing portions which extend into the sides of the bracket and are adapted to turn therein, thus providing a hinge, the transverse upper part of the wire being snapped over process 66 when in closing position (FIGS. 17 and 19). In the closed position, FIG. 19 shows the sides of the closure bearing against the arch wire although it need not do so. To release the closure, a tweezers 72, fragmentarily shown in FIG. 18 may be used against the sides of the closure to straighten them, thereby arching its upper transverse portion so that the latter is raised over the process to release the closure.

What is claimed is:

In a device of the character described, a bracket having a recess, open :at the front face of the bracket for the reception of an arch wire, a retaining, adjustable screw in said bracket and projecting forwardly from the front face thereof and below the recess, and a resilient, vertically movable closure for the recess, said closure having a central vertically elongate opening through which the retaining screw passes, whereby the closure may be moved to and held in open or closed position by adjustment of the screw.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,976,115 Boyd et al. Oct. 9, 1934 1,991,047 ,Boyd et a1. Feb. 12, 1935 2,265,420 Brusse et al. Dec. 9, 1941 2,665,480 Johnson Jan. 12, 1954 

